SKS Carbine

The 7.62mm semi-automatic SKS Simonov Self-loading Carbine was developed by the Soviet Union in 1945 and featured a top-loaded non-removable 10-round magazine. The design also boasted a wooden stock and a folding bayonet attached to the underside of the barrel. Though it was quickly replaced as a front-line weapon by the AK-47, the SKS design was exported to other Communist countries during the Cold War. The rifle pictured was captured by a U.S. Marine following a battle with North Vietnamese soldiers.